Treating Post-Operative Thirst With Flavoured Ice Lollies or Water - a Comparative Study to Improve Post-operative Discomfort

NCT06014216 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 21/093/GHT
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 173
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Patients are asked not to eat and drink before their operation, and the investigators know that this can make people feel thirstier when they wake up from their anaesthetic. The investigators want to know if giving patients ice lollies improves their thirst more than if they were given water. Gloucestershire Royal Hospital is funding and running a research study to find ways to try and improve this.

Conditions

Postoperative Thirst

Keywords

Thirst; Postoperative; Ice Lollies; Anaesthesia; Hydration

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• The primary outcome measure is the level of post-operative thirst following intervention with either water or ice lolly.

  Data on pre and post-intervention thirst will be recorded using questionnaires and a numerical rating score from 0 to 10, with 0 being no thirst at all and 10 being very thirsty. These scores will also be sub-divided into no thirst (0), mild thirst (1-3), moderate thirst (4-7) and severe thirst (8-10). This data will undergo statistical analysis to challenge the null hypothesis for the primary outcome measure.

  Intervention is to be given when the patient is adequately recovered from anaesthesia. An initial thirst score is recorded, then intervention given. Thirst scores are recorded again 15 minutes later to provide data for the primary outcome measure.

Study Arms (2)

Patients allocated ice lollies to treat post-operative thirst

EXPERIMENTAL

Ice lollies consisted of a flavoured ice popsicle (blackcurrant) provided through hospital catering. Participants were allocated a single ice popsicle with thirst scores recored pre and post intervention.

Other: Flavoured ice lollies (popsicles)

Patients allocated water as control comparison

OTHER

Water is a routine treatment for post-operative thirst and therefore used a control to compare our intervention against.

Other: Water

Interventions

Flavoured ice lollies (popsicles) OTHER

Blackcurrant flavoured ice popsicles, 105ml volume.

Patients allocated ice lollies to treat post-operative thirst

Water OTHER

Water from tap, one cup given by recovery nurses.

Patients allocated water as control comparison

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Patients over 18 years of age
• Patients attending for elective surgery

You may not qualify if:

• Allergy to products within the ice lolly
• Designated nil-by-mouth by anaesthetic or surgical teams
• Patient less than 18 years old
• Patient unable to give consent
• Refusal of patient to be involved with study

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: lead

Study Sites (1)

Gloucestershire Royal Hospital

Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL1 3NN, United Kingdom

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Water

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Hydroxides; Alkalies; Inorganic Chemicals; Anions; Ions; Electrolytes; Oxides; Oxygen Compounds

Study Officials

• David Sleep, BSc MSc MBBS D.Phil

  Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 21, 2023
• First Posted: August 28, 2023
• Study Start: April 19, 2021
• Primary Completion: May 17, 2021
• Study Completion: May 17, 2021
• Last Updated: March 12, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

GB (1)